2. amps-preamps
  3. 1339025747

Weak link

Hi all, I am relatively new to this world, and I have a question which, accordingly, might seem easy to answer to some. At least I hope.

My set-up is the following:
Onkyo HT-RC360
Carver A500x
Mirage M1
cables : from Carver to M1 : blue jean AWG10, biwired.

Onkyo -> Carver : this is a bit unorthodox, but I use a speaker to line level converter and generic cables to connect the converter to the carver.

While I really like the sound coming from this system, which is an improvement over having the Onkyo driving the M1 directly, I am found wanting in terms of high-frequency details coming from the speakers.

I read that the carvers deliver in general in terms of power, but not in terms of details, could it be the main culprit?

The other route is to get a preamplifier (any recommendations for this setup?) I am sure there are many weak links in this setup, but I am not quite sure which upgrade would yield the most audible improvement.

Thanks to all!
dalig

Showing 3 responses by dalig

dalig OP
11 posts
 
lowrider57: yes this is the correct link, it is a receiver.

The line 2 out only works for analog sources, which is not ideal but fine; but the main issue is that there is no volume control for line 2 out. The carver has no volume control either (only level knobs in the back). That's mostly what's driving me to wire this way.

So I found the line 2 out of the onkyo to be pretty useless, but I like everything else it offers (ipod connection, dolby decoding, etc)
dalig OP
11 posts
 
Thanks to all for you answers.

So I connected the Onkyo to the Carver via line-2 out, after turning the knobs on the back of the carver way down. I could only listen to radio in this setup, but it definitely feels like a veil has been lifted! It was the most striking when listening to a piano piece. Switching back and forth between the 2 setups (with or without speaker-to-line adapter) made clear that the adapter was the culprit.

Any recommendations for a good preamp to match the carver and the mirage? Ideally, I'd like it to have optical inputs. The budget would be up to 400. I mostly listen to 2 channels music. Thanks!
dalig OP
11 posts
 
Thanks all for your input. I have been looking around, and I see basically three ways I could go with this budget:

vintage tube gear: eg. arc sp2, or heathkit sp2 that are 25+ years old

new SS preamp : e.g. emotiva usp1

new chinese manufactured tube preamp: I had my eyes on the tubemagic d1 and tubedac11. (these also include a DAC, and have analog+digital inputs)

In terms of sound quality, is there an obvious winner among the three?
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